Dan Nordhill receiving the trophy from Don Erickson.
Bob Edelblut
This year the MPMGA Club Championship was played on November 13 and 14. Amazingly each day had a frost delay of one hour. Day one was played at The Preserve and the last day was played at MountainView. Both courses were in stellar condition and once the sun got high enough, temperatures were almost perfect.
Eighty-five players signed up for this year’s tournament and Special Events Director Don Erickson grouped them into eight flights. An individual’s handicap and tee selection determined his placing within the flights. All players in flights 1 through 4 played from the mixed tees. All players in flights 5 through 8 played from the forward or green tees. Only those players in flights 1, 2, 3 and 4 were eligible to win the overall championship. Don added a new twist to the competition this year by declaring that all winners would be determined using gross scores only.
On day one there were 16 players that scored in the 70’s. The medalist for the day was Tony Van Natter with 73. These fellas found the Preserve and the weather to their liking. Fabulous golf, gentlemen. Everybody knows that MountainView is not as difficult as the Preserve so hopes were high for day two. Guess what? Only 12 players had scores in the 70’s and the lowest score was produced by Dan Nordhill. He shot even par 72. It looks like stress may have been a factor. Just one more statistic before we get to the good stuff. Eight players scored rounds in the 70’s on both days of the competition. Well done!
Remember this is a low gross tournament so the winning scores may look a bit greater than normal. Our flight winners beginning with Flight 8 are Larry Meyer with a score of 175. Flight 7 winner with a score of 176 was Greg Cahill. Rick Fernandez won Flight 6 with a score of 164. Flight 5 was won by Don Plapinger with a score of 162. Ted Olson won Flight 4 with a score of 164. Flight 3 winner was Bill Webster with a score of 153. Doug Anderson won Flight 2 with a score of 152. Flight 1 was won by Dan Nordhill and as you already know his fabulous score of 148 also earned him the 2018 Club Championship. Super golf, Mr. Champion. Runner up again this year was Grant Farquhar with a score of 150.
The traditional Club Championship luncheon was held at MountainView’s Bistro after play was completed. Our Banquet Staff did a wonderful job with the lunch. Many thanks. Once again Tim Wilcox represented Sonora Investment Management, the featured sponsor of this event for several years. Thank you again for your continued support. A special thanks must also go to Don Erickson and his staff of volunteers that worked so hard to make this year’s tournament one to remember. Bill George, you are the best camera man ever. Thanks again. And finally, Matt Hudson and Mike Karpe, your contributions were greatly appreciated. See you all next year.